Birth of the Anti-Heroes.

German expessionism that gave rise to Film Noir, Horror and Detective genre.

About a month ago I checked out a movie from my university's library collection. This was a German movie that was released in 1931. It's protagonist was a male serial killer and a "hinted" pedophile. Hinted for obvious reasons of the taboo of discussing Pedophilia that still exist today. The name of the movie was "M" directed by Fritz Lang, one of the pioneers of the German expressionist cinema that emerged and lasted through 1920s and 1930s. Right from the subject of the movie to its execution and production stunned me enough to check out all the silent and Noir genre movies that my library held. I must say that though Wikipedia gave me a better introduction and a lot more information about the Expressionist movement in cinema but my shocking experience of watching stories similar to what I saw in a lot of other movies I thought were very original and they weren't made a significant impact. In this article I will talk about the expressionist movies I watched and the movies I remembered which in some way were inspired by those.

M(1931), directed by Fritz Lang and starring Peter Lorre.

A movie about a serial killer and a quest by not only cops but a union of thieves and beggers in search of this pedophile is simply brilliant. Peter Lorre's depiction of instant impulse of an urge for his own "hunger" is marvellous. He picks up a little girl and while taking her to a shop to buy some gifts he realises that he has been followed. So he abondons her but somehow his instant need is shaking him and driving him crazy. He makes you believe by his superb acting and for some reason that creates sympathy for his character. This look into a killer's psyche directly takes you to John Doe of Se7en (1995). The idea to use a thief/criminal in the story to catch a serial killer is also reminiscent of bone-chilling performance by Anthony Hopkins as Dr Lector in The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

The Caibent of Dr. Caligari (1920), Directed by Robert Wiene and starring Werner Krauss.

This is perhaps the best silent film I have ever seen till this date. Its a story about Dr. Caligari and a somnambulist (sleep-walker). Dr Caligari goes to a small village fair and the weird incidences that follow after are an example of fantastic cinema. The sets used in the movie directly remind of any surrealist David Lynch or Alejandro Jodorowsky movie and their spectacular visuals. The somnambulist and Dr Caligari will remind of any voodoo setup in any movie where the lead character is possessed. The deceptive narrative reminds the Film Noir classics like The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Sunset Blvd (1950). The shock value of the twist in the end is conveyed in Christopher Nolan's Following (1998).

Metropolis (1927), Directed by Fritz Lang.

This is supposedly the father of Sci-Fi cinema that uses dystopian setups and suggests at the futility of technology towards the betterment of mankind. With the tagline "There can be no understanding between the hand and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator" Metropolis was the most expensive silent film at the time of release. The marching workers during the shift change was taken directly in the"Another brick in the wall" visuals of Alan Parker/Roger Waters surrealist cult classic The Wall (1982) which obviously inspired the 1984 Macintosh release commercial. The robot is a direct inspiration for C3PO of the Star Wars. The scientist losing his right hand also inspired Luke/Anakin Skywalkers losing their right hands by the swings of light sabers. Most importantly the struggle of mankind to save themselves has been seen in perhaps every single dystopian setup from Blade Runner (1982) to Matrix (1999) and most recently Children of Men (2006).

Nosferatu (1922) Directed by F W Murnau.

This a silent horror classic about a blood-sucking vampire that follows a man to his town and terrorizes people with Plague. This silent film uses parallel narative of a trapped man and the vampire's journey to the town. The automated opening and closing of the doors of a haunted mansion and the shadows of the long fingernails need no mention of films that use those techniques.

Though other films also made an appearance on my DVD player, but these four were the most significant ones. If you notice then you will realise that all of those were an attempt to express the dark side of the humans. A serial killer, a somnambulist, a human management blinded by the money in an "end-of-the-world" society and a vampire. Perhaps the World War I and II just made people realise the need to look into the psychology of the Anti-Heroes and the deceptive worlds they create. Admittedly the recent movies have an edge over those silent movies with the use of blue-screens, high-definition camers, surround soundsand dialogues. What these current movies cannot surpass of that experessionist cinema is the philosophy behind the message conveyed and the anti-hero psychology depicted. Due to less amount of dialogues the expressionist cinema doesn't beat around the bush but rather gets to the core of the subject right away and actually this kind of execution surpasses all the technology applied today. A good cinema is always remebered by the message it conveys. In the words of silent movie star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) in Sunset Blvd, "we didnt need dialogue, we had faces".